


Christmas Dinner

by Mystradigans



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Coming Out, Homophobia, M/M, Teenlock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 10:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2808719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystradigans/pseuds/Mystradigans
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Mycroft gets through mock-Christmas dinner with his homophobic family by texting his boyfriend, Greg, under the dinner table.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Dinner

**Author's Note:**

> By Emily.
> 
> Christmas is always an awkward time of year in my family because they're all a bit homophobic/elitist on my Mum's side and they don't know I'm queer. I have to, like, dress straight and stuff. And then one of my uncles will make a gay joke and I can't slap them, so that's another downside. Christmas is still my favourite time of year though because Christmas Trees, and Love Actually, and Santa, and the Doctor Who special...
> 
> Anyways, have some fanfiction and if, like Mycroft and I, you have a tough time with your family at Christmas, remember that you're awesome and wonderful just the way you are.

-On the way to Granny's. Wish me luck. MH

 

Greg: youll be fine. text me if u need me, k?

 

-I just hope I can get through lunch without committing homicide. MH

 

"Let me talk to Greg!" Sherlock whined, lunging for the phone, which Mycroft held above his head so the eight year old couldn't reach it.

 

"I thought Greg was dull" Mycroft sighed, recalling the time Sherlock had told Greg exactly that, about 2 minutes after he'd first introduced them.

 

"He is, but nothing could be duller than this boring car ride" "Boys, I hope you're not going to be mentioning Greg today" Mummy cut in. "And Sherlock, if you could try to avoid bringing up lesbians at the dinner table this time"

 

"What? Why?" asked Sherlock.

 

"Look, your mother's right" said Father, keeping his eyes on the road. "Granny and her new friend don't want to hear about anything.. gay.. at all, do you understand?"

 

"So they don't want to hear about Mycroft?" queried Sherlock. "Cos he's gay. Or Derren Brown? Or Sue Perkins?"

 

"Just.. don't bring it up" grumbled Mummy. "It's a Christmas Dinner, not some.. lpdt riot or whatever it is they call it these days"

 

Mycroft sank slowly further into his seat and clutched his phone slightly tighter, mumbling his "LGBT+" so quietly that no-one but his brother heard.

 

"And Granny's friend" said Sherlock. "Is he just her friend or is he her boyfriend?"

 

"Clearly he's her boyfriend" Mycroft thought. "Or we wouldn't be trying this hard to impress him"

 

"Because if he's secretly her boyfriend" Sherlock continued. "And Greg's secretly Mycroft's boyfriend, then why don't they just both tell each other about their boyfriends and neither of them will be able to judge each other because.. well, because they'll both have kept a secret, won't they, and so then nobody needs to have a secret boyfriend"

 

"Roger is just Granny's friend, Sherlock" Mummy insisted. "And you need to be on your best behaviour so you don't scare him off"

 

"And my best behaviour means pretending that Mycroft likes girls?"

 

"Yes, yes it does" said Father, wearily.

 

\- - -

 

Mycroft had never liked Granny's house, which was a shame really since if Uncle Terrence, Mummy's younger brother, failed to produce any children, Granny's house would be the one he eventually inherited. It was too big and you weren't allowed to touch anything because practically everything in it was an antique, or contained some sacred memory of Grandpa or in some cases, both. What he hated most about Granny's house, however, was that there was nowhere to escape; no bedroom he could sneak off to to read when he got upset, not even a bathroom that felt comforting enough to hide in. The house was like Granny- cold and unfamiliar no matter how many times he went there.

 

"Welcome, happy mockmass!" greeted Granny, kissing Mycroft on the lips and squeezing his arm so tightly it hurt. She was dressed very much the part of a warm, sweet old lady: a long, flowing skirt and a thin maroon cardigan.

 

"Hello Granny" he said, awkwardly shifting out of her grip. He was dressed very much the part of a perfectly posh grandson from the 1950s: a pair of cream trousers and a thick navy jumper.

 

"Sherlock" Mummy warned, noticing the boy trying to sneak past.

 

"Come here and give your Granny a kiss, Sherlock" said Granny. Sherlock nodded and reluctantly came over, all rebellious spirit momentarily quieted."Haven't you grown?" Granny fussed. "Soon you'll be as tall as your brother! Although perhaps not quite so wide"

 

Mycroft's hand instinctively moved to his stomach, as if he thought he could somehow block it from view.

 

"Come on in then. Roger will be in the living room, I suspect" They stopped to take off their shoes and followed Granny into the sitting room.

 

"This is Roger. Roger, this is my daughter Caroline, her husband Philip and their two children, Mycroft and Sherlock"

 

"I'm not a child, I'm sixteen" was Mycroft's immediate thought, before turning his attention to the man in front of him.

 

Granny's 'friend' was short and had dark grey hair. He was wearing corduroy trousers and a checked shirt, and Mycroft could tell from the marks on his fingertips that he'd been a surgeon at one point before retiring almost ten years ago. Deductions began flooding in: a dead wife, a Gite in the South of France, an enthusiasm for old-fashioned trains. Votes conservative, but considering changing to UKIP. Three daughters- one a housewife, one a teacher, the youngest at university. Mycroft glanced at Sherlock and saw he was doing the same thing, though probably not quite as well; Sherlock had never been very good at deducing.

 

"Pleasure to meet you" Father said, shaking Roger's hand.

 

Granny left to return to the kitchen, leaving Mycroft to sit gingerly on one of Granny's antique armchairs and type out a message to Greg.

 

-Going fine so far. Nobody's yelled at anybody else and all that's happened to upset me is a snide comment about my weight. MH

 

Greg: good to hear. and dont listen to them, ur beautiful xx

 

Mycroft smiled at the message and put his phone back in his pocket. As always, Granny was running late with the food which left him to socialize with Roger as Mummy and Father looked on to make sure he didn't say anything inappropriate and Sherlock died of boredom in the corner. Roger seemed to have a bizarre fascination with asking ridiculously obscure questions about Mycroft's life, which lead to the teenager having to explain how his English exams were marked, the amount of polyester in his jumper and his views on involuntary euthanasia. After what seemed like an hour but was probably more like 25 minutes, a woman in her late 20s with blond hair came in.

 

"Sorry, I, um, got lost on the way back from the bathroom" she said with a sheepish smile.

 

"Ah, you must be..." prompted Mummy, just as Mycroft deduced that she was Uncle Terrence's girlfriend, a lower middle class woman he'd met through friends.

 

"Oh, I'm Sophie, I'm dating Terrence" she said, and Mycroft felt a pang of sympathy for her- she looked completely intimidated by the house and everyone in it and clearly had no idea how to act in higher society.

 

"Caroline. Terrence's sister" said Mummy.

 

"I've heard so much about you" smiled Sophie.

 

"And I you" Mummy lied. "This is Phillip, and these are my sons, Mycroft and Sherlock"

 

"Hi" said Mycroft, thinking it might make Sophie feel slightly better if he abandoned the formalities.

 

"Lunch is ready!" Granny called, and they made their way into the dining room.

 

\- - -

 

-Dinner is awkward at best. Granny criticized my Mother's nail polish and it's getting a bit tense. MH

 

Greg: is the food at least good?

 

-Everything is boiled. MH

 

Greg: ewwwww

 

-Quite. MH

 

-And Granny's new boyfriend made a homophobic joke. MH

 

Greg: what?!?

 

-...Yes, he commented on the 'coincidental' link between gay marriage becoming legalized and the nearby floods. MH

 

-Everyone laughed except me and Sherlock and my Uncle's new girlfriend, who's not stopped looking terrified since she came in. MH

 

Greg: I am litrally so angry right now

 

Greg: want me to come rescue u?

 

-It's 95 minutes away from your house and you'd have to pay £2.50 at the Dartford crossing. Plus, Sherlock already sorted that out. He looked at him and was like "Sorry, I didn't really understand that joke. Could you please explain why it's funny?" and everyone went quiet and my Mother gave us both death glares. MH

 

Greg: LOL! go Sherlock!

 

"Mycroft, are you using your mobile phone under the table?" enquired Granny.

 

"Sorry, I-"

 

"-Ooh, are you texting Greg?" Sherlock asked.

 

"Who's Greg?" said Roger.

 

"He's Mycroft's friend from school" Mummy said hastily.

 

"Boyfriend. He's Mycroft's boyfriend" corrected Sherlock.

 

"Sherlock, don't tease your brother, just because he has yet to find a girl does not make him a gay" scolded Granny.

 

Roger chuckled. "My girls were always teasing each other like that- calling each other lesbians or.. feminists.. to try and get a rise out of them"

 

"Irene's Mum's are lesbian feminists" Sherlock supplied helpfully.

 

"Yes dear, so you told us at Easter" said Granny.

 

"Sherlock's been slightly obsessed with homosexuality at the moment, I'm so sorry" apologized Father.

 

"I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH HOMOSEXUALITY, I AM JUST OBSESSED WITH JUDGING PEOPLE BY THEIR PERSONALITIES RATHER THAN THE PEOPLE THEY FALL IN LOVE WITH" proclaimed Sherlock proudly.

 

Sophie spooned more boiled potatoes onto her plate awkwardly as the family stared at Sherlock in shocked silence.

 

Uncle Terrence cleared his throat. "So Caroline, tell me about this book group you've joined"

 

\- - -

 

Greg: everything ok??

 

-No. MH

 

Greg: whats wrong?

 

-Sherlock told everyone I had a boyfriend and they thought he was making fun of me. MH

 

-It's really awkward in here now. MH

 

Greg: the thing is tho Myc, if their not excepting u for who u are, or even believing that you could have a BF, theres no point even worrying about it. clearly there wrong.

 

"Texting again, Mycroft?" asked Granny, looking up from her Christmas pudding.

 

"Mm" was Mycroft's only reply.

 

"Is it the same classmate as before?"

 

"Mhm"

 

"Teenagers" Granny sighed. "That school seems to teach you nothing but how to sulk. I remember when Terrence went through his teenage phase- he'd spend all morning in his bedroom and only communicate in huffs"

 

"Mummy!" objected Terrence.

 

"Ahh, my youngest is still going through that rebellious stage" smiled Roger. "She said she's got depression, and she wants to drop out of University and do art, and she's cut all her hair off-"

 

"If your daughter has depression you should get her help" Sherlock observed. "Mrs Facer got depression and the doctor gave her these pills for it"

 

"And Mrs Facer is..?" said Granny.

 

"She was my teacher in Year One" Sherlock answered.

 

"A teacher? Good grief" muttered Granny.

 

"She was a really good teacher!" defended Sherlock. "Wasn't she, Myc?"

 

"Mmhm" said Mycroft, staring at his phone screen.

 

"Look Mycroft, I think you should stop talking to your friend on the phone and speak to your family. We are, after all, at the dinner table"

 

"Boyfriend, actually" Mycroft said without looking up.

 

The room fell into silence. Granny dropped her fork. Roger raised his eyebrows. Uncle Terrence let out a shocked kind of half laugh. Father glared at Mycroft. Mummy sobbed. Sophie helped herself to more Christmas pudding.

 

Sherlock beamed and squeezed Mycroft's arm tightly.

 

\- - -

 

Mycroft sighed with relief as he collapsed into his own bed. The drive home had been silent, with Mummy and Father fuming and humiliated and Mycroft and Sherlock not wanting to make them yell again, but now he was home. Home had loads of places to hide. He pulled out his phone and saw Greg had replied to the text he'd sent him in the car, which had explained what had happened.

 

Greg: sucks that they reacted badly but i suppose that was expected. are you glad you told them?

 

-Yes. It's a relief not having to hide, and it means we don't have to go back for Granny's birthday. MH

 

-You were right- they don't care about me enough to accept my orientation, so it doesn't make sense to spend my life trying to please them. MH

 

Greg: im proud of you. i love you :)

 

-I love you too. MH

 

-Oh, and Sophie ditched my Uncle. She called him a heartless bigot. MH

 

Greg: yes!! u go girl! i knew i liked her for a reason!


End file.
